Ten things you never knew about Lily Evans
by awakeatnight
Summary: Everyone just expected her favourite flower to be lillies, but how terribly cliche would that be? The fact that he had noticed was either terribly sweet or terribly creepy, and she decided that, just this once, it was possibly the former.


1. Autumn was by and far her favorite season.

It wasn't the way the leaves crunched under her feet, or the crisp air, or how the sunlight always seemed less harsh, more golden and beautiful. Well it was all those things, but mostly it was because everything was so red.

And that sounds entirely vain, but finally, finally, she didn't stick out like a sore thumb. Her hair would pick up in the wind and leaves would swirl around, crimson everywhere, and then, only then, she really didn't mind being a redhead so much.

* * *

2. During their first year, their very first autumn at Hogwarts, Alice had dragged her (scowling) around the grounds, searching laughingly for that one leaf that matched her hair exactly.

It had become tradition. She pretended to be put out by it, but in all truth, she had just as much fun as Alice.

* * *

3. When Severus had called her "mudblood," irrationally, she had hated James for it.

If she was honest with herself, she had known for quite some time that it would come down to something like this, but she hated that James had to be the catalyst that forced her to quit trying so vainly to hang on to childhood and naivety and instead embrace the fact that they were slowly becoming adults who were going to have to choose sides in the coming war.

But mostly she hated him for being right about Severus all along.

* * *

4. She had kissed Sirius once.

It was in sixth year, when she had still despised James, and Sirius too for that matter, and had consumed entirely too much alcohol, as is usually the precursor to such terrible decisions. She had surprised him mid-sentence, pressing her lips to his.

He stood there shocked for a moment before gently pulling her away from him. He had given a good-natured laugh and said, "I think it's about time you call it a night Evans." He had put her arm around his shoulders and led her, stumbling, back to her room and to bed.

The next morning, although she was still in last night's clothes, she woke with the covers tucked under her chin, shoes neatly lined up on the floor, and a hangover potion on her nightstand.

They never spoke of it and to the best of her knowledge, he never breathed a word of it to anyone else, either.

* * *

5. This was one of the reasons she eventually gave James a chance, not that she would ever admit it.

But, if she could have been so wrong about Sirius, for so long, then maybe-and just maybe, mind you- James wasn't as bad as she had thought either.

* * *

6. She thinks she remembers the very moment that she fell in love with James Potter.

She had had a truly terrible day and had come back to the Head dorms to find a small vase of hand-picked tulips sitting outside her bedroom door.

She had never told anyone, outright at least, that they were her favourites. Everyone just expected them to be lilies, but how terribly cliché would that be?

The fact that he had noticed the way she lingered just a little bit longer in the south courtyard, admiring them, was either terribly sweet or terribly creepy, and because they were all reds and oranges and entirely too lovely, she decided that, just this once, it was possibly the former.

* * *

7. Lily had wanted to have sex sooner into their relationship than James had.

It had only been two weeks into their relationship when she had gotten that horribly impersonal letter from Petunia, informing her that both of her parents were dead, and if she would be so kind as to please not stay in touch.

She had gotten up and walked out of the Great Hall, and walked and walked, up flights of stairs, down corridors, until the numbness, that glorious numbness, had worn off and she found herself in a sobbing heap in the middle of an abandoned classroom.

It wasn't five minutes later that James had managed to track her down. He sat down beside her and didn't say a word as she cried her heart out, falling asleep on his shoulder when emotional exhaustion set in. He carried her back to the Head dorms and she woke up in his arms in his bed, because he had known she wouldn't want to be alone tonight.

She couldn't even honestly have said what exactly was going through her mind, but in that moment she needed him, needed to feel him, needed to know that there was at least one person left who still loved her.

He had gently spurned her advances, her desperate kisses, her frantic touches, and instead pulled her tight to him, holding her slightly trembling body, kissing her hair and whispering things like, "shh it's going to be okay Lils" and "I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere," and "I love you so much; so fucking much."

When they had finally made love for the first time, it was everything she could have ever dreamed of and more, and she was so, so thankful that he had known what she needed even when she hadn't known herself.

* * *

8. She really, really hated crying.

It was such a pointless thing. That's not to say she never cried, but certainly not until she was safely behind a locked door with a silencing spell. She could count the number of times James had seen her cry on one hand.

One of those times was when her parents died. Another was when she was pregnant and had spent all day baking an apple pie only to discover that they didn't have any ice cream. She didn't think this ought to count-pregnancy hormones and all that-but James counted it anyway.

Although, she would like to point out in her defence, apple pie really isn't the same without it.

* * *

9. She secretly loved it when, even after they had gotten married, James still called her 'Evans' sometimes.

He would come down the stairs, and see her in the kitchen and let out a wolf whistle and say something like, "Lookin' good Evans" and she would throw a dish towel at him and pretend to be annoyed.

Or when his owl would show up at her work with a note that said- _Oi, Evans, go out with me this Friday? -J -_and they would go out to a fancy restaurant at the end of the week, even though she would assure him that his means of asking her were just as uncouth as they were at Hogwarts, and that it's a wonder she ever fell for it.

She only said this to make sure his ego didn't get too inflated. It was a wonder she didn't fall for it sooner. And James would always give her an indulgent smile, letting her keep face, but not buying it for an instant. Which is part of the reason she loved the infuriating git anyway.

* * *

10. Lily chose the name Harry.

James liked to say they picked the name Harry after his great uncle. Sirius liked to say that they chose it because they knew he would have just as much ridiculous hair as his father. Lily let them believe what they wanted because it had been her who had suggested the name, and her alone who knew why.

Her paternal grandfather had suffered extensive memory loss as he had aged, and by the time Lily was 6, could no longer remember his own son's name. However when they went to visit him every Sunday afternoon, his face would light up and he would greet her dad as "Harry" like they were old friends (his name was Mark). It became an inside joke between their family and they would often call her dad "harry" at home, as if it were his alter ego.

She wanted her son to bear that name in a way to remember her father, and partially, irrationally, so that her grandpa would never have to worry about getting his name wrong.

This might seem like a story she should share with James, but somehow it was just so personal, an inside story just for their family, and she couldn't tell it without breaching some sort of unspoken rule, and shattering that image of when she was younger and she didn't know she was a witch, and they were a real family, without a division between her and Petunia and her parents trying to mediate.

She would tell Harry though. Because he was part Evans and he ought to know about the family he would never meet.

* * *

**Alright so that was different for me, but I hope you liked it. I'm a huge J/L shipper and seriously write tons of them so I'm glad to finally be posting some up here. :D**


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